The Center of Anna Maria Island has long been a valuable resource for the citizens and visitors to the Island. In 2019, under the leadership of the Center’s executive director, Chris Culhane, and the director of development, Jim McDaniel, the Center officially added an environmental dimension to its mission in response to the 18-month red tide that devastated the Island’s marine resources and local businesses.
In 2019, after a conversation with Island entrepreneur and Manatee County environmental leader Ed Chiles, The Center began a relationship with Ocean Habitats Inc., the designer and builder of Mini Reefs. To date, almost 200 units have been distributed and are annually filtering more than two billion gallons of water and helping provide habitat for the new growth of an estimated 54,000 fish and 36,000 crabs.
The Center branded its annual fund that year as “Go Green” and hosted Philippe Cousteau, son of the legendary marine explorer and environmentalist Jacques Cousteau, as its campaign kick-off speaker. Cousteau develops relationships with The Center and its patrons at Beach Bistro.
In 2020, the Center’s crop of Mini Reefs grew to more than 150 units. Philippe Cousteau came back that year to introduce the Center’s “Go Green 2” campaign keynote speakers from Clearwater Marine Research Institute, Dr. James “Buddy” Powell and Dr. Ann Mari Alvarez. Third-grader Addy Du Toit interviewed Cousteau before his introduction and shares her passion to protect the environment by having students in local schools trade in their plastic toothbrushes for bamboo brushes. Cousteau fell in love with Addy, as has the community. Addy has also put up recycling receptacles in The Center and spoken to children in the Beyond The Classroom afterschool program. That same year Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria participated in Mini Reef installations at the Bradenton Beach Pier and AMI Historical Society docks.
In 2021, the Center continued growing its initiative in a newly designated lab space. Grants are awarded to the Center to support the initiative from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Manatee Community Foundation, the AMI Chamber of Commerce and private donors. The initiative also partnered with the Blue Waters Coalition, an organization that includes citizen-science groups from the Siesta Key Association and the city of Venice. The Center coordinates visits from these groups and schedules them on data gathering outings and training sessions with the support of Eckerd College’s marine science program, its students and teacher Dr. Jorge Angulo.
Each group has installed Mini Reefs and is developing data gathering with the same data points and methods for future collaboration between sites in a group study to be developed in 2022-23. The Center has events planned between Nov. 21 and Jan. 14 that have members of the community engaged in supporting their environment such as:
- Citizen-science participation in Bimini Bay Initiative
- Center beach cleanups on the first Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. Volunteers gather at the Center.
- A community scavenger hunt
- Holiday turtle painting decoration
The Center has an ambitious plan for the future and has programs for all Island residents. Stay tuned for more environmentally focused advocacy, and join the initiative at www.centerami.org.
